wa

wa

synonyms, antonyms, definitions, examples & translations of wa in English

English Online Dictionary. What means wa‎? What does wa mean?

Translingual

Symbol

wa

  1. (international standards) ISO 639-1 language code for Walloon.

English

Etymology 1

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

wa

  1. A traditional proa-style outrigger canoe of the Caroline Islands.

Etymology 2

From Thai วา (waa).

Noun

wa (plural wa)

  1. A Thai unit of length, traditionally comparable to a fathom, and now officially equal to two metres.

Etymology 3

From Japanese (wa).

Noun

wa (uncountable)

  1. In Japanese society, the favouring of a harmonious community over one's personal interests.

Etymology 4

wa

  1. (stenoscript) Abbreviation of where.

Anagrams

  • aw

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch wagen.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /vɑː/

Noun

wa (plural waens, diminutive waentjie)

  1. wagon
  2. cart
  3. automobile, car

Synonyms

  • (car): kar

Derived terms

Amele

Noun

wa

  1. water

References

  • John R. Roberts, Amele Organised Phonology Data (1998)

Anguthimri

Noun

wa

  1. (Mpakwithi) grey hair

References

  • Terry Crowley, The Mpakwithi dialect of Anguthimri (1981), page 189

Antillean Creole

Etymology

From French roi.

Noun

wa

  1. king

Atong (India)

Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s/p-wa. Cognate with Garo wa (tooth, tusk), Jingpho wa (tooth), Burmese သွား (swa:), and Tibetan སོ (so).

Noun

wa

  1. tooth, tusk

References

  • van Breugel, Seino. 2015. Atong-English dictionary, second edition. Available online: https://www.academia.edu/487044/Atong_English_Dictionary.

Bambara

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [wà]

Particle

wa

  1. final interrogative particle on a yes/no question

Baoule

Adverb

wa

  1. here

Bassa

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [wā]

Pronoun

wa

  1. they, them

Verb

wa

  1. to break

References

  • Bassa-English Dictionary
  • 2007. The UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Department of Linguistics.

Bau

Noun

wa

  1. water

Further reading

  • Hans van der Meer, Bau Organized Phonology Data

Butmas-Tur

Noun

wa

  1. water

References

  • Greenhill, S.J., Blust. R, & Gray, R.D. (2008). The Austronesian Basic Vocabulary Database: From Bioinformatics to Lexomics. Evolutionary Bioinformatics, 4:271-283.

Canela

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ʋa/

Noun

wa

  1. third-person of xwa

Egyptian

Romanization

wa

  1. Manuel de Codage transliteration of wꜥ.

Etulo

Verb

  1. drink
    ḿ wēnîI drink water
    ḿ wēnīI drank water

References

  • Rose-Juliet Anyanwu, Fundamentals of Phonetics, Phonology and Tonology (2008)

Garo

Alternative forms

  • wagam

Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s/p-wa. Cognate with Jingpho wa (tooth), Burmese သွား (swa:), and Tibetan སོ (so).

Noun

wa

  1. tooth

Gele'

Noun

wa

  1. water

German

Etymology 1

From dialectal wat (what).

Pronunciation 1

  • IPA(key): /va/
    • (Berlin) IPA(key): [vɐ̠]
Particle

wa

  1. (colloquial, regional, parts of northern and central Germany) right?; is it?; is it not?
    Synonyms: ne, oder, gell; see also Thesaurus:nicht wahr

Pronunciation 2

  • IPA(key): /vah/, /vhah/
    • IPA(key): [ʋæh], [ʋhæh] (parts of northern Germany)
Particle

wa

  1. (colloquial, potentially rude) what, huh (expresses that something was extremely hard to understand acoustically or outlandish in content)
    Synonyms: , hüä; was
Usage notes
  • Also spelled wat. Especially common in Hamburg and western Holstein, where dialects traditionally drop final /t/ (especially after fricatives).

Etymology 2

Pronoun

wa

  1. (colloquial) Pronunciation spelling of wir.

Gilbertese

Noun

wa

  1. pirogue

Gun

Etymology

Stemming from the possible Proto-Gbe *bá, Proto-Gbe *vá, Proto-Gbe *wá, or Proto-Gbe *ɓá. Cognates include Fon , Saxwe Gbe va, Adja va, Ewe va. Possibly also cognates with Yoruba , Itsekiri , Olukumi

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /wá/

Verb

  1. to come

Haitian Creole

Alternative forms

  • rwa

Etymology

From French roi (king).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /wa/

Noun

wa

  1. king

See also

  • rèn

Ifè

Alternative forms

  • وَ

Etymology

cognate with Yoruba

Pronunciation

Verb

wa ()

  1. come

Japanese

Romanization

wa

  1. Rōmaji transcription of
  2. Rōmaji transcription of
  3. Rōmaji transcription of
  4. Rōmaji transcription of
  5. Rōmaji transcription of わっ
  6. Rōmaji transcription of ワッ

Kapampangan

Interjection

wa

  1. yes

Antonyms

  • ali

Kashubian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *va.

Pronoun

wa

  1. you (second-person plural)

Declension

Further reading

  • “wa”, in Internetowi Słowôrz Kaszëbsczégò Jãzëka [Internet Dictionary of the Kashubian Language], Fundacja Kaszuby, 2022
  • Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011), “wy”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi

Kituba

Verb

wa

  1. to hear

Kumeyaay

Noun

wa

  1. house

Lingala

Verb

wa

  1. to die

Lorediakarkar

Noun

wa

  1. water

Mandarin

Romanization

wa (wa5wa0, Zhuyin ˙ㄨㄚ)

  1. Hanyu Pinyin reading of

wa

  1. Nonstandard spelling of .
  2. Nonstandard spelling of .
  3. Nonstandard spelling of .
  4. Nonstandard spelling of .

Usage notes

  • Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Marshallese

Etymology

From Proto-Micronesian *waxa, from Proto-Oceanic *waga, from Proto-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waŋka, from Proto-Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian *waŋka. Cognate with Maori waka, Tongan vaka, Hawaiian waʻa.

Pronunciation

  • (phonetic) IPA(key): [wɑ]
  • (phonemic) IPA(key): /wæɰ/
  • Bender phonemes:

Noun

wa

  1. canoe, ship, boat
  2. vehicle

References

  • Marshallese–English Online Dictionary

Mokilese

Verb

wa

  1. to carry

Derived terms

  • wahdo
  • wahla

Muong

Etymology

From Chinese (MC xwae). Cognate with Vietnamese hoa.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /waː¹/, [waː¹ ~ βaː¹]

Noun

wa

  1. (Mường Bi) flower
    Synonym: pông

Northern Ndebele

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-gʊ̀a.

Verb

-wa

  1. to fall

Inflection

This entry needs an inflection-table template.

Northern Sotho

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-gʊ̀a.

Verb

wa

  1. to fall

Oirata

Noun

wa

  1. pea, bean

Old English

Alternative forms

  • wei,

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *wai, from Proto-Indo-European *wai.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /wɑː/

Interjection

  1. woe! alas! (expression of grief or anguish)

Derived terms

  • wā lā wā

Adverb

  1. woe, ill

Related terms

  • wāwa
  • wēa

Descendants

  • Middle English: wa, wo, woo
    • English: woe
    • Scots: wa, wae

Old Javanese

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *baʀah.

Noun

wa

  1. ember, glowing coal

Ottawa

Pronoun

wa anim sg (plural niwi, obviative giwi)

  1. that

References

  • Jerry Randolph Valentine (2001) Nishnaabemwin Reference Grammar, University of Toronto, page 123

Panim

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /wæ/

Noun

wa

  1. water

Further reading

  • Panim Talking Dictionary

Phuthi

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-gʊ̀a.

Verb

-wa

  1. to fall

Inflection

This entry needs an inflection-table template.

Polonombauk

Noun

wa

  1. water

Sa

Noun

wa

  1. water

Scots

Alternative forms

  • waw

Etymology

From Old English weall, ultimately from Latin vallum.

Noun

wa (plural was)

  1. wall

Verb

wa (third-person singular simple present was, present participle wain, simple past wad, past participle wad)

  1. to wall

Shark Bay

Noun

wa

  1. water

Sotho

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-gʊ̀a.

Verb

wa

  1. to fall

Sumerian

Romanization

wa

  1. Romanization of 𒉿 (wa)

Swahili

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Verb

-wa (infinitive kuwa)

  1. to be
    Wewe ni nani?Who are you?
  2. (in positive present) to become
    Inakuwa baridi.It is getting cold.
  3. (auxiliary) dummy verb that takes tense marking while the main verb takes aspect marking
    nilikuwa ninaandikaI was writing
  4. (with specified location) stem of -wapo, -wako, or -wamo
  5. (with na or a form thereof) stem of -wa na
Conjugation

Etymology 2

Particle

wa

  1. A class inflected form of -a.
  2. Wa class inflected form of -a.

Tagalog

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /wa/, [wɐ]

Interjection

wa (Baybayin spelling )

  1. shoo; used to drive away pigs and other animals
  2. used to express surprise, dismay, or sometimes a joke
See also

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈwaʔ/, [ˈwaʔ]

Interjection

(Baybayin spelling )

  1. said to make small children and babies laugh (usually said when playing peekaboo)

Etymology 3

Influenced by Baybayin character (wa).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /wa/, [wɐ]

Noun

wa (Baybayin spelling )

  1. The name of the Latin-script letter W/w, in the Abakada alphabet.
    Synonym: (in the Filipino alphabet) dobolyu

See also

Further reading

  • “wa”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018

Tapayuna

Etymology 1

From Proto-Northern Jê *ba (I) < Proto-Cerrado *waj’ (I).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈwa]

Pronoun

wa

  1. I (nominative case)

Etymology 2

From Proto-Northern Jê *mba (liver) < Proto-Cerrado *mba (liver) < Proto-Jê *mba (liver).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈw̃a]

Noun

wa

  1. liver

Ternate

Etymology

Shortening of the negation particle ua.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈwa]

Particle

wa

  1. sentence-final confirmation particle; isn't it?
    Bira moi rai, wa?The rice is already finished, right?
  2. sentence-final that indicates the speaker knows or should know what is being said
    Ngori tonyodi kolano ua, wa.I did not see the king, as you know.

References

  • Rika Hayami-Allen (2001) A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh

Torres Strait Creole

Adverb

wa

  1. yes

Tsonga

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-gʊ̀a.

Verb

wa

  1. to fall

Tswana

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-gʊ̀a.

Verb

wa

  1. to fall

Unami

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [wa]

Pronoun

wa

  1. this (animate)

See also

Venda

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-gʊ̀a.

Verb

wa

  1. to fall

West Flemish

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *hwat, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷod.

Pronoun

wa

  1. (interrogative) what

West Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian hwā, from Proto-West Germanic *hwaʀ.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /vaː/

Pronoun

wa

  1. who (interrogative)

Derived terms

  • wa't

Further reading

  • “wa (I)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

West Makian

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /wa/

Verb

wa

  1. (intransitive) to stay
Conjugation

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /wa/

Adverb

wa

  1. also

References

  • Clemens Voorhoeve (1982) The Makian languages and their neighbours[1], Pacific linguistics

Woleaian

Etymology

Cognate with Mokilese war (canoe)

Noun

wa

  1. canoe

Xhosa

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-gʊ̀a.

Verb

-wa

  1. (intransitive) to fall

Inflection

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

Yoruba

Alternative forms

  • وَ

Etymology 1

Cognate with Igala wa

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /wā/

Determiner

wa

  1. our (first-person plural possessive pronoun)
See also

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /wà/

Verb

  1. to be (have a location in space)
Derived terms

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /wá/

Verb

  1. come
    Synonym: bọ̀

Etymology 4

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /wá/

Verb

  1. to look for
Derived terms

Etymology 5

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /wà/

Verb

  1. to drive
Derived terms

Zacatepec Chatino

Pronoun

wa

  1. we (exclusive)

Zarma

Noun

wa

  1. milk

Zay

Etymology

Cognate to Silt'e [script needed] (-wa:).

Conjunction

wa

  1. and

References

  • Initial SLLE Survey of the Zway Area by Klaus Wedekind and Charlotte Wedekind

Zia

Noun

wa

  1. rain

Zulu

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-gʊ̀a.

Verb

-wa

  1. (intransitive) to fall, to drop

Inflection

Derived terms

  • iwa

References

  • C. M. Doke; B. W. Vilakazi (1972), “wa”, in Zulu-English Dictionary, →ISBN: “wa

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